


Warm

by Imaginative_Spirit



Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII
Genre: (he gets one don't worry), Emotionally Repressed, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Panic Attacks, Self-Esteem Issues, Sephiroth (Compilation of FFVII) Needs A Hug, Touch-Starved
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-28
Updated: 2020-05-28
Packaged: 2021-03-03 04:26:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,491
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24428722
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Imaginative_Spirit/pseuds/Imaginative_Spirit
Summary: Their hands are so warm.An evening supposed to be pleasant doesn't go quite according to plan, and Sephiroth is quick to put the blame on himself.
Relationships: Angeal Hewley/Genesis Rhapsodos/Sephiroth
Comments: 18
Kudos: 177





	Warm

**Author's Note:**

> I've been struggling with this fic for weeks at this point because the idea for it hit me and wouldn't leave me alone until I wrote it... It was honestly a real struggle to finish, but hopefully it was worth it!
> 
> Make sure to mind the tags! Sephiroth decided to be a bit of a mess in this fic and I don't want anyone to have to read anything they're not comfortable with <3

Their hands are so warm. One pair is guiding him gently towards the bed, while the other ghosts over his face, his neck, his shoulders, barely even touching him but still setting fire to his nerves. Sephiroth takes a deep breath and tries to steel himself, but his legs feel weak. Everything is spinning.

“Sephiroth?” a voice asks, somewhere in the distance. Sephiroth opens his eyes and finds Genesis watching him, hands withdrawn. The other pair is still resting on his hipbones, and when Sephiroth glances over his shoulder, Angeal is giving him that same look.

“Everything okay?” Angeal murmurs. Automatically, Sephiroth nods. He’s fine. He isn’t in pain, and as far as he’s concerned, that means he’s all right.

“Sephiroth”, Genesis repeats, voice a shade softer than what Sephiroth is used to. “Precious, you look like you’re about to fall apart.”

Precious. Why is Genesis calling him that? It feels… wrong. Vaguely, Sephiroth realises that his heart is racing in his chest, as if he’s just fought an incredibly tough battle. But he hasn’t. There’s no danger here. There’s only him, Genesis, Angeal and a bed that they’re supposed to be getting into.

“I’m fine”, he says, somehow managing to maintain his usual steady monotone. Genesis doesn’t look entirely convinced, but he dives in to kiss Sephiroth nonetheless. His mouth is just as warm as his hands. He’s hooked his arms around Sephiroth’s head to keep him in place, and Sephiroth becomes urgently aware of the fact that he doesn’t know what to do.

“You’re so tense”, Angeal murmurs, running fingers over Sephiroth’s thighs. “Relax.” Sephiroth allows his mouth to fall slightly open, letting Genesis deepen the kiss. It feels… good, maybe? He can’t really tell. His body is unable to process sensations right now, and his mind seems to have left his body to fend for itself.

“Do you always kiss like a dead fish or are you just that blown away by my talent?” Genesis purrs. He is a talented kisser; that much, Sephiroth can tell. The way he uses his lips, his tongue, his teeth… It all comes with a well-practiced grace; it’s easy to tell that Genesis has done this many times before.

“I think he might be a bit shy”, Angeal says and kisses the side of Sephiroth’s neck. Sephiroth slowly pulls away from Genesis and leans back against Angeal more and more for support; his knees are starting to give in.

“The Great Sephiroth, shaking like a leaf”, Genesis declares, sounding way too amused by the entire ordeal. There’s a smug smirk on his face. He just can’t help himself, even now. “Don’t worry. We’ll take good care of you.”

He knows they will. They always have, from the moment he met them, even though he doesn’t quite understand what they see in him. This is no different. If he can trust them as friends, he should trust them with this. At least, that’s what Sephiroth tries to tell himself. Angeal moves suddenly, taking a step back to give himself room to pull Sephiroth’s coat off, and Sephiroth loses his balance.

“Whoa! Easy now!” Angeal catches him before he can tumble to the floor. “Are you sure you’re okay?” His hands, wrapped firmly around Sephiroth’s waist, are the only thing keeping Sephiroth on his feet. “Sephiroth, do you need us to stop?”

“…No”, Sephiroth responds with a bit of delay. His mouth doesn’t seem to be willing to cooperate either, just like the rest of him.

“It’s almost like he’s drunk!” Genesis laughs. “Do we make you this nervous? I would never have guessed!”

“Are you really sure this is okay?” Angeal asks. Again.

“Of course”, Sephiroth snaps, not without frustration. He doesn’t need them to start treating him as if he’s something fragile and breakable. He’s Sephiroth, SOLDIER 1st Class, and he doesn’t need anyone to pamper him. At least, that’s what he tries to tell himself, the mantra he repeats inside his own head, so that he won’t shatter under their touches at this very moment.

“My, my… Somebody’s impatient”, Genesis says and slides the coat properly off Sephiroth’s shoulders. It falls to the floor, and Genesis moves on to unbuckle his belts while Angeal continues to pepper feather-light kisses over Sephiroth’s neck and shoulder. It feels… good. Yes. He can tell now. But he can’t shake the feeling that it… shouldn’t. He shouldn’t be here, doing this.

Before he knows it, Angeal has manoeuvred him to sit down on the bed. Sephiroth watches dazedly as Genesis moves to take off his boots. Angeal takes the opportunity to steal a kiss as he pushes Sephiroth down onto his back, splaying him out on the bed.

“Hips up”, Angeal says, and Sephiroth obeys without a second thought so that his pants can be removed as well. He feels warm all over, even though their hands are no longer all over him.

“Gorgeous”, Genesis whispers. There’s a hunger in his eyes now. “Like a piece of art.”

“If you’re going to start quoting LOVELESS at me, I’m out”, Sephiroth retorts, trying to distract himself from how hard it is to breathe. It earns him a laugh from Angeal and a mostly amused, somewhat offended huff from Genesis.

He’s lying there, on his back, naked, and they’re still fully clothed, leaning over him. Somehow, that’s what sets him off. Suddenly, he feels like he’s no longer lying in Angeal’s comfortable bed, but on an examination table in the labs, with scientists leaning over him, poking and prodding. Hojo’s standing there, smirking at him, scalpel in hand…

No. No, that’s not right. He’s right here, with Genesis and Angeal, and they’re going to have a nice evening together. Gods, why does his chest feel so tight?

“We’re gonna make you feel so good, Sephiroth.” Angeal’s voice should be grounding, as should his hand touching Sephiroth’s thigh, but instead, it just makes him shiver… and not in a good way. No… this doesn’t feel good at all. He jerks his head to the side to get away.

“Is something wrong?” one of them asks, he can’t tell which because his ears are ringing. Yes, Sephiroth thinks, but finds he can’t say it out loud.

“Sephiroth, you look really pale. Is it really okay for us to touch you?”

They want to touch him. Sephiroth wants them to touch him too, yearns for it with desperation he didn’t know he was capable of, but there’s a part of him that screams in terror at the mere thought of it. _They’re going to hurt you_ , it whispers. _They’re pretending to be kind to get under your skin. The moment you let your guard down, they’ll…_

A hand touches his cheek. Sephiroth scrambles away until his back is pressed against the headboard. His vision blurs and he squeezes his eyes shut, presses his face down into the palm of his hand while pulling his knees up against his torso, as if making himself appear smaller will somehow help.

This feels wrong. He’s not supposed to be here. He has no place in Angeal’s and Genesis’s relationship, because he doesn’t know how to do this right, he’s going to do something wrong, he can’t even bring himself to trust them properly…

He’s not sure for how long he sits there, curled up, trembling, barely able to breathe. It takes a lot to get him to sweat, but his skin feels damp now. The heat has faded and has left him freezing. Finally, he dares to look up at them again. They’re both still seated on the bed in front of him, looking rather taken aback by his outburst.

“What’s wrong, precious?” Genesis asks, sounding… shocked. Displeased. Finally, it hits Sephiroth why that word makes his gut churn.

 _My precious specimen._ Hojo’s laughter echoes in his mind.

“Don’t call me that!” Sephiroth snaps, sounding a lot angrier than intended. He feels unhinged, after that outburst, all his usual self-control torn from him, and he doesn’t like it. Doesn’t like that he’s allowed himself to show this much weakness in front of them. Genesis flinches, eyebrows furrowing in confusion as he opens his mouth, clearly about to deliver a retort.

“Do we need to stop, Sephiroth?” Angeal cuts in before Genesis gets an opportunity to retaliate. “What did we do wrong?”

Instantly, he feels bad for snapping. How is he even supposed to begin to explain himself?

“I don’t know”, Sephiroth whispers, overcome by a surge of guilt. They must be so disappointed with him now. Genesis will complain, like he always does when things don’t go his way. Angeal will surely find it dishonourable as well, for him not to be able to go through with what he agreed to do…

“You don’t know?” Genesis exclaims incredulously.

“Genesis”, Angeal says, his voice taking on an almost scolding tone. Automatically, Sephiroth flinches, and Genesis does as well. “Look at him.” Angeal’s voice immediately goes soft again, and after sharing a look, they both turn their attention back to Sephiroth.

“Oh…” Genesis whispers, as if he’s only just now realised something, looking and sounding so uncharacteristically concerned that it makes something inside Sephiroth ache.

“Sephiroth… You know you don’t need to be scared of us… right?” Angeal adds, reaching forward to place his hand right next to Sephiroth on the bed. Not touching. Just… waiting, giving Sephiroth an opportunity to reach out and take it if he wants to.

“I know”, Sephiroth replies. He only barely manages to brush his fingers against Angeal’s, not daring to make any further moves. Angeal bridges the gap and takes his hand, grasping it loosely. Sephiroth could pull away easily, and a part of him wants to, but he doesn’t.

“We can tell you’re hurting”, Genesis says and cups Sephiroth’s other hand between both of his own. “Talk to us.” Genesis is watching him with an indescribable, powerful emotion in his eyes. Sephiroth can’t tell exactly what it is, but assumes Genesis must be angry. He’s just trying to hide it. Sephiroth ducks his head and tries not to let the misery swallow him whole.

“I think we need a change of plans”, Angeal says. “We can do something else tonight. I’ll put a movie on, make us some hot chocolate…”

“Not yet”, Genesis says. “I think we need to talk about this.”

“I’m sorry”, Sephiroth says. This was supposed to be a fun evening for all of them, and now he’s ruined it. Why did he even allow himself to let his guard down in the first place? The guilt burns deeper.

“Don’t be sorry”, Angeal says without hesitation. “You’re clearly not in the right mindset for this right now, and we don’t want to do anything to make you feel worse.”

“But you… you wanted to do this.” It makes no sense to him. They should just be taking what they want from him.

“Not if you don’t want to”, Genesis murmurs and shifts closer, lingering in his personal space but not reaching out to touch him. “Do you really think so little of us, that you believe we would want to do this with an unwilling partner?”

“It’s… not that I don’t want to”, Sephiroth whispers, unsure how to explain. Because he does want to. He wants to give them everything he can, wants them to do as they please with his body. His own comfort is irrelevant, like it always is. Why is this the one time anyone has ever cared about his comfort?

“But you have your doubts”, Angeal says and places a hand on Sephiroth’s shoulder. His other hand is still holding Sephiroth’s own. “You’re uncomfortable. We don’t want you to be uncomfortable while you’re with us.”

“You’re not mad at me?” Sephiroth hates the soft, hesitant tone his voice takes on, but he hates the look Genesis and Angeal share even more. That’s pity. He knows pity too well.

“Why… would we be mad at you?” Angeal sounds upset, but not quite angry. At least not yet. Sephiroth doesn’t know how to respond to that question at all.

“I don’t know”, he repeats and looks away, staring at a spot on the mattress to not have to see their expressions. He knows what they’re thinking anyway. _Who’s this pathetic shell of a person and where did strong, tough, confident Sephiroth go?_ Little do they know this is what has been hiding underneath, all along.

“Well… We’re not mad”, Angeal says, tucking a few strands of hair behind Sephiroth’s ear. “You don’t need to worry about that. You’ve done nothing to deserve anger.”

They’re _not angry_. Somehow, that’s what makes it unbearable. They should be furious with him, they should be yelling at him by now for not doing what he agreed to do, they should –

“Sephiroth…” Genesis’s voice cracks. “I need to give you a hug right now. Is that all right with you?”

Oh gods, the fact that Genesis _asks_ first, even for something as trivial as that… Sephiroth barely even manages a nod before Genesis practically leaps into his arms, hugging him tight enough to squeeze the breath out of him. Sephiroth goes stiff. He doesn’t know what to do with his arms. Or with the rest of his body, for that matter.

And then, Angeal joins in as well, wrapping his arms around Sephiroth from behind, and something inside Sephiroth just… melts. Genesis on one side, Angeal on the other, holding him so close, closer than anyone ever has before… It feels good. It feels _so good_.

“Do you want this, or should we let go?” Angeal asks.

“Don’t let go”, Sephiroth whispers. _Please_ , he wants to add, but he doesn’t beg. He will not stoop to that level, not when he’s already sunk this low. He repeats it over and over inside his own head instead. _Please, please, please don’t let me go. Don’t ever let me go._ It’s terrifying to admit it to himself but he wants this. He wants their affection. He wants to feel like he belongs here.

And they don’t. They don’t let go. They hold him close until the tension floods from his muscles, until his body finally begins to accept that they’re not a threat, that he’s allowed to relax with them because they’re not going to hurt him.

“There we go”, Genesis says softly. “You’re doing so good for us. You’re perfect, just like this. Wouldn’t change a thing about you. You know that, right? We adore you, Sephiroth.”

Genesis so unabashedly praising him is the final nail in the coffin. It all becomes too much, all at once. Every single barrier Sephiroth has constructed around himself comes crashing down, everything he has tried to hide away where nobody else can see forces its way out.

It starts as a low noise in the back of his throat, but before he knows it, he’s crying outright; tears rolling down his cheeks as an embarrassingly loud sob escapes him, echoing in the otherwise quiet room. He hears Genesis gasp, but doesn’t see his expression. He’s too busy squeezing his eyes shut, as if that’s somehow going to stop them from seeing him like this. He squirms and manages to get out of their grasps, and then tries to curl in on himself, to hide himself away again, but Angeal and Genesis are too close for him to successfully achieve that.

“Sephiroth”, Angeal murmurs. His hands carefully take hold of Sephiroth’s shoulders, forcing him to uncurl. “Sephiroth, it’s all right. You don’t need to be ashamed. Not with us.”

Hesitantly, Sephiroth opens his eyes, tries to blink away the tears that just keep on falling. When he tilts his head to look back at Angeal, he finds Angeal watching him with the same adoring expression he usually saves for Genesis. Genesis, though… Genesis looks completely taken aback. Sephiroth expects his lips to curl into a mocking smirk at any moment. Expects a scathing remark that’s going to sting much more than it usually does. But Genesis’s expression remains completely awestruck.

“Never in my life did I think I’d get to see you like this.” His hand comes up to touch Sephiroth’s cheek, gently wiping away a few tears. “Like Angeal said, don’t be ashamed. You’re so beautiful, darling. Is that okay? Can I call you darling instead?”

He isn’t mocking Sephiroth at all. He’s showing Sephiroth kindness, even suggesting an alternative to the term Sephiroth found uncomfortable. It still feels strange, but it doesn’t fill his mind with horrifying memories, at least. Sephiroth manages a nod as he sobs again, leaning into Genesis’s hand, his body suddenly aching for even the smallest touch.

“I… don’t mind that”, he manages to whisper, wincing at how shaky his voice is.

“That’s good, darling”, Genesis practically coos and pulls Sephiroth back into a warm embrace. “There’s nothing wrong with crying. You’re just showing us that you’re human.” Sephiroth’s heart jumps a little in his chest. Genesis, who’s usually so tactless, saying such sweet things to him… _Human._ His brain latches on to it. _This is human._ He presses his head down against Genesis’s shoulder and stops trying to hide his pathetic little whimpers, and they seem to notice, yet don’t seem to mind.

“That’s it. Let it all out…” Angeal’s hand settles firmly on Sephiroth’s back. He doesn’t hug Sephiroth this time, but instead simply settles for stroking his hair and leaning in close to press his forehead against the side of Sephiroth’s head. So carefully, as if he’s afraid Sephiroth’s going to break. Too late for that.

Sephiroth isn’t sure how long he stays like that, sniffling into Genesis’s shoulder and gripping Genesis’s shirt so desperately that it nearly makes his fingers hurt. Sephiroth can’t even say for certain why he’s crying. How have they managed to reduce him to this? He knows it’s pathetic, knows _he’s_ pathetic, but for some reason, Genesis and Angeal don’t seem to mind. The fact that they’re putting up with him even now, offering him comfort, telling him that he’s allowed to feel like this, just makes it even harder to stop crying. It makes no sense to him. No sense at all.

By the time his sobs die out and his tears finally stop falling, Sephiroth is so tired that he can barely stay upright. He finds himself leaning more and more against Genesis, to the point that when Genesis tries to move away, Sephiroth reflexively clings to him so hard that it becomes impossible. He regrets it immediately; on top of everything else, he’s being too needy, surely.

“So cute”, Genesis simply says instead, clearly not minding this at all. Sephiroth doesn’t understand how they’re both taking this so well. “If only you were so eager to be near me when I try to teach you to appreciate the finer things in life.”

“Having LOVELESS recited to me for the thousandth time isn’t my idea of fine.” Sephiroth’s voice is hoarse, but at least it’s steady enough that he sounds a bit more like himself. Somewhere behind him, Angeal chuckles.

“Glad someone’s feeling better.”

“You uncultured cretin! Get your filthy hands off me!” Genesis declares, all drama but no bite. Sephiroth finds himself smiling, even though his face is still hidden against Genesis’s shoulder.

“This became a bit heavier than we planned. Should we do something to cool down?” Angeal asks, going back to petting Sephiroth’s hair. “What do you want to do, Sephiroth?”

“Sleep”, Sephiroth admits. He’s too tired to even think about anything else. Angeal laughs again, clearly relieved.

“Can’t argue with that. C’mon, then.”

They gently lay him down on the bed and wrap him up in warm blankets. The moment his head hits the pillow, Sephiroth finds he can’t keep his eyes open. He decides not to mention that he’d still assumed he’d be going back to his own apartment tonight. Angeal’s bed is nicer anyway. The blankets are warmer, and the pillows are softer. As the minutes go by, Sephiroth finds himself relaxing more and more, with Angeal still running fingers through his hair and Genesis humming a peaceful, calming melody. It should be easy to fall asleep like this.

Still… there has to be a catch, his mind keeps telling him, leaving him unable to relax enough to actually fall asleep. Nobody would ever treat him this well without ulterior motives.

“Is he still awake, you think?” Genesis whispers suddenly. “Sephiroth?” A cold feeling twists in his gut. Sephiroth feigns sleep. “Okay, I think he’s asleep. Angeal, we need to talk about this.” Sephiroth hears him shuffling around on the bed.

“Keep it quiet. We don’t want to wake him up”, Angeal replies just as quietly.

And there it is. He can hear them, even though they speak with hushed voices. He lies there, heart racing, waiting in silence for them to blow their cover.

“Poor thing’s so touch-starved”, Genesis murmurs. “Did you see how he flinched when I hugged him? And the way he broke down when I said those things to him… That’s not…” He falls silent, seemingly unable to find words, for once. “…I had no idea.”

“Neither did I”, Angeal says. “It seems he’s been keeping a lot of things to himself.”

“He thought we’d be mad at him because he expressed discomfort, Angeal!” Genesis’s voice rises in pitch. “We gave him a panic attack! Something’s really wrong! He’s not okay! Who… Who hurt him?!” His breath hitches, and Sephiroth realises that Genesis is crying. Oh gods, no. Genesis is crying _because of him._

“Genesis”, Angeal says softly.

“I had no idea!” Genesis exclaims. He sounds horribly torn up about this. Sephiroth wonders how he managed to hide it so well until he thought Sephiroth was asleep. “We’ve been such terrible friends, letting him suffer alone! And I’ve been… teasing him, thinking he could handle it because he acts so aloof, but… but what if I made him really upset?”

“Don’t be so loud. You’re going to wake him up. You can apologise to him tomorrow morning if you feel like you need to do that.”

“I’m going to kill whoever made him feel like this, Angeal”, Genesis hisses. Sephiroth can hear the burning anger in his voice. “And I’m going to make it painful.”

“Not tonight, you won’t”, Angeal murmurs, still clearly trying his best to be as quiet as possible. “But we’ll find out who did this to him. Don’t worry.”

They’re not plotting to hurt him behind his back. They’re just worried about him. They want to _help._ The tight feeling in Sephiroth’s chest remains, but the part of him that was previously terrified finally relents.

“I can hear you, you know”, Sephiroth says and cracks an eye open, because he feels bad about listening in on them in secret, now that he knows their intentions. They both turn to stare at him, looking so dumbfounded that he can’t help feeling amused.

“Everything all right?” Angeal asks. “Do you need anything? Don’t be ashamed to ask.” Gods, he just wants them both so desperately. Wants them to hold him close, wants them to treasure him, wants to just pretend for one night that everything’s all right.

“I…” Sephiroth tries not to feel guilty. This is nothing to feel guilty about. He wants to ask for it, but his throat clogs up the moment he tries. But Angeal just looks at him with a warm, understanding expression.

“Do you need us to hold you, Sephiroth?” he asks. Sephiroth looks away and nods, unable to look either of them in the eye. Angeal is too good at just _knowing_ things sometimes.

“If… if it’s not too much to ask for.”

“Of course that’s not too much.” Angeal lies down next to Sephiroth, presses up against his back and holds him close. He brushes Sephiroth’s hair aside and nuzzles the back of Sephiroth’s neck, and Sephiroth sighs in relief at the warm touch. “See? It’s no trouble at all.”

Genesis still lingers on the side-lines, watching Sephiroth with a pained expression. He isn’t crying anymore, but his eyes are still damp.

“You too, Genesis”, Sephiroth says. Genesis’s lips curl into the softest, most hesitant smile Sephiroth has ever seen on his face. There’s none of his usual cockiness to be found, and somehow, he’s even managed to reel in his anger.

“If you so desire, who am I to tell you no?” He crawls over to join Sephiroth and settles down on his side, reaching out to wind fingers into Sephiroth’s bangs. All three of them lie there in silence for a while. Sephiroth wants to be here, he knows that now, but it’s still so hard to just accept it without feeling like he isn’t supposed to be here.

“I’m sorry that there’s something wrong with me”, he blurts out. He needs to let these thoughts out, or they’ll eat him alive. “I didn’t mean to make you worry.”

“You don’t need to apologise. You haven’t done anything wrong”, Angeal replies and presses a kiss to the back of Sephiroth’s neck.

“It’s not your fault that somebody hurt you”, Genesis says. There’s a hesitance in his voice that feels unfamiliar, and somewhere beneath it, anger on Sephiroth’s behalf. “Because… somebody did hurt you, right?”

Very reluctantly, Sephiroth nods. He decides not to let them know what is still being done to him on a regular basis; he doesn’t particularly want Genesis to start a one-man war against the entire Shinra Company for his sake. He can bear the pain. As long as he has Angeal and Genesis, he can get through it.

“I don’t want to talk about it”, he says, fully expecting one of them to keep pressing.

“That’s okay”, Angeal says instead, wrapping his arms tighter around Sephiroth. “Whatever makes you feel comfortable.” Oh. That’s… unexpected. No interrogations?

“You don’t… want to know?”

“Of course we do. But you’re exhausted, aren’t you? We’ve already asked enough of you tonight, I think”, Angeal murmurs, tracing patterns on Sephiroth’s back with his fingertips. “Just relax now. We can worry about everything else later.” It’s… soothing. A part of Sephiroth tries once more to insist that this is all wrong, that he doesn’t belong, but with both of their warm bodies pressed against him, he finds that he’s just too comfortable to care.

“Get some sleep now, darling. When you wake up, we’ll be right here with you”, Genesis whispers and presses a kiss to Sephiroth’s forehead, before shifting closer and curling up against Sephiroth’s chest. The term of endearment doesn’t feel quite as odd, this time. _I could get used to this_ , Sephiroth realises, and the terror that has been sinking its claws into him finally relents. This is all right. He’s in good hands. There’s nothing to fear here.

He falls asleep like that, warm and safe between the two people he adores most.

**Author's Note:**

> Come yell at me over on my twitter [@ethereal_savior](https://twitter.com/ethereal_savior) if you feel like it! ;D


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